Mrs Marr (89) has a "wet" form of age-related macular degeneration in her right eye.
This condition is often rapidly progressive and is one of the leading causes of blindness in New Zealand and other developed countries.
A new macular degeneration drug called Lucentis received US Food and Drug Administration approval in 2006.
This offered new hope for many people who once faced certain blindness, stopping and in many cases reversing at least some vision loss in most people.
But a closely related drug, called Avastin , which is FDA approved only for treatment of colon and other cancers, has also been shown to be a highly effective and much cheaper alternative for people with advanced age-related macular degeneration, many eye doctors say.
More than 300 Dunedin people have received off-label treatment with Avastin in recent years.
Clinicians report "brilliant" results, given the potential for rapid deterioration in sight and previously "miserable" prospects for many people with the condition.
Mrs Marr, who lives at St Leonards, was "very pleased" that her first injection of the drug about two months ago had improved her sight.
"I can see things a little bit more clearly," she said.
Because of macular degeneration her vision was sometimes crooked, with some gaps in her visual field.
Since treatment, she had found it easier to play indoor bowls, and she could read more of the eye chart during a visit to Dunedin Hospital yesterday, where a second injection was administered.
The more people with macular degeneration who could be treated effectively, the better, she said.
Providing good access to drug treatment was important for Dunedin people, given they had limited ability to pay and there were severe limits on the public health budget.
If off-label access to Avastin was ever restricted or stopped, she would be denied potentially sight-saving therapy.
Susan Davidson, the executive officer of Age Concern Otago, said that any moves to restrict access to the treatment would be "abhorrent", given that clinicians had found it beneficial.
Hearing, eyesight and dental matters were all "big issues for older people", Ms Davidson said.
Macular degeneration was a growing problem in an ageing population, and maintaining good eyesight was crucial for individual people, their families and the wider community, given the "huge number of roles" played by older people.
